Ecuador delivers 5,590 weapons to Armed Forces in fight against organised crime
President Noboa equipped the military with 5,570 rifles and 20 light machine guns for $24.5 million. Ecuador closed 2025 with a record 9,284 homicides.
Noboa arms military with 5,590 modern weapons amid escalating violence
Ecuador's president, Daniel Noboa, delivered 5,570 automatic rifles and 20 light machine guns to the country's Armed Forces on Tuesday, as part of the Government's offensive against criminal gangs operating across the territory. According to elcomercio.pe, the shipment also includes 24,253 units of complementary equipment, with a total investment of $24.5 million.
"Latest-generation" weaponry to replace rifles from another era
Defence Minister Gian Carlo Loffredo described the material as "modern weaponry" intended to replace rifles that the Armed Forces had used "since the time of war". "It is an assault weapon, lighter, better for operating in urban conditions, ambidextrous and latest-generation," the official highlighted.
Loffredo stressed that having better-equipped Armed Forces would allow "facing the enemy better," referring to organised armed groups to whom Noboa declared "war" in 2024 and whom the Government calls "terrorists".
Distribution among the three military branches
Of the total rifles, 3,220 units go to the Army, 1,667 to the Navy and 883 to the Air Force. Army commander John Miño stated that with this weaponry the country makes a "transcendental leap" in fighting crime and that it will be incorporated "immediately into military operations in defence of national territory".
State of internal armed conflict and homicide record
Ecuador has been under a state of "internal armed conflict" since 2024, declared by Noboa to intensify operations against criminal groups. Since then, the Government has decreed successive states of exception and night-time curfews to enable special security force operations.
However, these measures did not prevent the country from closing 2025 with a historic record of 9,284 homicides, a figure that reflects the persistent violence plaguing the Andean nation.
Source: Google News EC — Crime